LEGISLATORS VS. STRICKLAND; A tonic for higher education?; House GOP seeks $100 million scholarship boost
BYLINE: Jim Siegel, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Ohio college students, particularly those who pursue science, technology, engineering and mathematics degrees, would be eligible for $100 million in new state scholarships under a budget proposal unveiled yesterday by House Republican leaders.
And after years of getting short-changed in the budget process, Ohio colleges and universities suddenly find themselves in a kind of bidding war.
House Speaker Jon A. Husted, R-Kettering, told a roomful of higher-education officials that the House is proposing a funding boost of 2 percent next year and 10 percent in 2009, $34 million more than Gov. Ted Strickland's proposed 5 and 2 percent increases.
"We've been accused in the past of starving them to death," Husted said. "If you're really going to move higher education forward, there needs to be some significant investments so they don't have to sacrifice in quality."
Much of the money would come from Strickland's planned increases in health-care coverage for the poor. That could set up a budget debate pitting not only the governor's proposal against Husted's, but also higher education vs. low-income Ohioans.
Unlike Strickland's proposed budget, in which universities would get additional money only after agreeing to a compact limiting tuition and requiring budget cuts, House Republicans would guarantee the money.
But students hoping for a tuition freeze next year under Strickland's plan would not see it until 2009 under Husted's proposal. The House would cap tuition growth at 3 percent next year.
"I hope you will see ... we are serious about making higher education a driver of the state's economy," Husted told the Ohio Board of Regents' statewide trustees conference.
He said Strickland's budget doesn't do enough to accomplish his goal of increasing the number of Ohioans with a college degree by 230,000 over the next decade.
Husted also hinted that House Republicans are prepared to do more with the Ohio Student Choice Grant program, which is money for students attending private schools that Strickland proposed to cut back significantly.
"I don't think people who are for choice grants will be disappointed with our budget," he said.
Ohio State University President Karen A. Holbrook quickly issued a statement praising Husted's plan as a "bold and decisive move."
"(Strickland's) innovative executive budget got the ball rolling, and the Ohio House appears poised to accelerate needed investments while being sensitive to the impact of tuition increases on students and their families," she said.
Richard A. Stoff, president of the Ohio Business Roundtable, issued a release minutes later saying the plan "addresses the challenge squarely and emphatically."
Strickland's office was kept out of the loop on Husted's idea, so his spokesman had little to say about it.
"Speaker Husted's goals appear to be roughly in line with the governor's goals," spokesman Keith Dailey said.
Husted needs to find roughly $150 million in the two-year, $52.9 billion budget to pay for the initiatives. He did not offer specifics.
Scott Borgemenke, Husted's chief of staff, said they'll get the money through a piecemeal approach. It will involve cutting back some of Strickland's proposed human-services program expansions, as well as funding reductions in other areas.
"We haven't decided which ones yet," Borgemenke said of the human-services reductions. "Our folks do not believe that Medicaid is economic development. They believe an investment in higher education is."
The House is expected to pass the budget May 1, sending it to the Senate for additional debate.
Senate President Bill M. Harris, R-Ashland, said nice things about Husted's efforts and the need to focus on higher education, but he did not offer a specific endorsement. He came closest when he said, "I don't think there's a person in here who would not agree that $100 million into this pot is a great opportunity."
Details of the scholarship program are pending. It would have a needs-based component, Husted said, and an "emphasis" on students going into the so-called STEM fields: science, technology, engineering and math.
"We're going to encourage more students to gain degrees in areas that are in demand in the economy," Husted said.